Chapter 322 A Written Denunciation of the Empress

At noon, the party stopped at a town—Huangsha Town.

You could still see the desert from here, but a small river ran through the middle of the town, surrounded by plenty of green vegetation.

The town wasn’t large, maybe a hundred households or so.

But there were quite a few travelers passing through, and the inn was packed.

The group had just halted. Before they even stepped inside, they could hear the loud, animated conversations from within.

"You have no idea. Prince Pei’s daughter is something else—hideously ugly, arrogant, domineering, and a total degenerate. She’s already ruined several promising young men. I wonder who she’s set her sights on this time. I can’t believe they’re actually planning a wedding for her."

"That’s not it. I heard Prince Pei couldn’t stand it anymore, so he picked a husband for her and is forcing her to marry."

"Ewww... I wonder which family’s young master is the unlucky bastard."

"I heard he’s the son of a prominent family. They were suppressed by the Empress and had to move their entire household here. Now they’re living under someone else’s roof, so they’re in a position to be pushed around."

"That’s truly tragic."

...

Upon hearing this, Rong Qing immediately glanced at Xiao Li, only to see her raise an eyebrow, showing no other significant reaction.

He was a little surprised, but he didn’t say anything.

Xiao Li was mentally sorting out the He Dong County Prince’s lineage. The He Dong County Prince hailed from the He Dong Clan. His birth mother was the late Emperor’s aunt, Princess Huairou.

In other words, the He Dong County Prince was the late Emperor’s maternal cousin, which meant Prince Pei’s daughter was of the same generation as Xiao Li.

Of course, these were all relatives of her body’s original owner. Xiao Li didn’t acknowledge a single one of them.

「By evening, the group arrived in Yizhou.」

Just as they were about to enter the city gates, sheets of paper began to flutter down from the sky.

A man on the gate tower was scattering them while chanting loudly, "Heaven and earth are in chaos, yin and yang are confounded! A tyrant is on the throne, and all creation mourns..."

Xiao Li caught a sheet of paper just before it landed on her face. It was a written denunciation of the Empress.

’The Xiao Family’s Xuan Yang is of a jackal’s nature, consorting with depraved sycophants, harming the loyal and worthy, murdering her brother and slaughtering his clan. She has inverted yin and yang, acted perversely against the natural order, and disregarded all rites and laws. She is despised by gods and men alike, an abomination that heaven and earth cannot tolerate. Now she wages war across the land, with endless slaughter and the people unable to live. Her sins are monstrous...’

Xiao Li crumpled the denunciation and tossed it to the ground. ’What a waste of time even looking at it.’

The He Dong County Prince, Pei Chang’en, was also one of the three rebel kings. While King Xian had united several factions to conquer the realm by force, the He Dong County Prince had recruited only scholars. Apparently, he planned to win by cursing out the Empress.

Most of Empress Mingxi’s ill repute throughout the land was thanks to their slandering.

The common people were benefiting and knew who the good ruler was, but the He Dong County Prince and his band of exiled scholars were busy writing all sorts of condemnations.

And they were relentless in their criticism of Xiao Li. Although they wouldn’t dare parade in front of her, that didn’t stop them from clamoring away in this backwater.

When Xiao Li seized power and ascended the throne, they cursed her for being "a hen crowing at dawn"—defying the heavens, disregarding the Great Way, and destroying the ancestral laws.

When Xiao Li executed swathes of nobles and corrupt officials, they cursed her for being a ruthless and cruel tyrant.

When Xiao Li revived the imperial examinations, they cursed her for her perverted actions that would ruin the state.

When Xiao Li was injured and lay in a coma for over a year, they were ecstatic. They kept insisting it was heavenly punishment, proof that her virtue was not equal to her station.

Unfortunately for them, the courtiers were too loyal to the Empress, and her military generals were too powerful. They couldn’t win against the generals with words alone, nor could they shake the new dynasty. In the end, all they could do was join the rebellion, which really just meant they shouted louder.

They’d been rebelling for so long, yet they hadn’t accomplished a single earth-shattering thing.

Now that the Empress was awake and had moved against King Xian, they didn’t mention King Xian’s rebellion at all. Instead, they focused entirely on how the Empress was harming her elders and relatives, disregarding rites, ignoring familial bonds, and destroying the Xiao Family’s empire.

’These scholars... they have little actual skill, and their talent for insults is pathetic. It’s the same few phrases over and over again. They can’t even come up with any creative curses.’

’But watching this bunch of idiots prance around is infuriating.’

The moment they entered Yizhou, they were hit by the rich scent of ink.

The main streets were festooned with the calligraphy of scholars—poems, songs, and odes, all related to denouncing the Empress.

The teahouses and restaurants throughout the city were gathering spots for scholars. Everywhere you looked, you could see groups of them clustered together, brandishing their brushes and flinging ink.

The children on the roadside were singing the same lines the man at the gate had chanted: "Heaven and earth are in chaos, yin and yang are confounded! A tyrant is on the throne, and all creation mourns. Now our king comes to strike down her wickedness; now our scholars come to strike down her impertinence..."

Rong Qing moved closer to Xiao Li. "Master, don’t listen to their nonsense."

As Rong Qing tried to placate Xiao Li, he glared murderously at the people around them. If he weren’t the only one by Her Majesty’s side, he would have already started a massacre.

Xiao Li wasn’t so fragile as to be broken by a few curses.

She just felt that these scholars had nothing better to do, and it made her really want to kill them.

Xiao Li had indeed exiled many nobles, but not everyone in Yizhou City was an exile.

A large portion were actually ordinary local scholars. The change in Imperial Power and the Empress’s executions had nothing to do with them, but when they heard others cursing the Empress, they got swept up in the passion and joined in, as if not doing so would diminish their status as intellectuals.

’They say reading makes one reasonable. These people have clearly read their books straight into a dog’s stomach.’

If they had latched onto her and cursed her right after she ascended the throne, that would be understandable. After all, a new Emperor—and an Empress at that—was difficult for some to accept.

But it had been three years. The people of Longsheng had been exempt from taxes for three years, factories had benefited the masses, irrigation projects had been undertaken, and free schools had been built.

Every single one of these things had been implemented. Which of them wasn’t a great deed that benefited the country and its people?

’But this group is willfully blind. They can’t see a single bit of it.’

’And is Prince Pei a good person?’

’The Pei Family is a major clan in Hedong. They control three cities there, exploiting the common folk, levying exorbitant taxes, and bullying men while seizing women. Have they done a single decent thing?’

’Prince Pei himself is a prime example. In his youth, he ran rampant, even killing for sport. Now that he’s older, he hasn’t toned it down one bit. He even built a place called Wanfang Garden, filled with young women gathered from several cities for his and his friends’ amusement.’

’Yet these scholars, after cursing the Empress, can still praise that scumbag to the high heavens.’

’Then again, birds of a feather flock together. It’s perfectly normal for this flock of idiots to follow a scumbag.’

’What they want is no longer a brilliant and ambitious Emperor who can bring fortune to the people, but simply a man on the throne. Or perhaps they aren’t even making a fuss to support a particular candidate for Emperor anymore. They’re just going crazy for the sake of it, chasing the feeling of being able to speak freely and insult the sovereign without any restraint.’

’A bunch of trash!’

After entering Yizhou, they took their leave of Qi Chuan. "Thank you for your help, Mr. Qi. If our paths cross again, we will surely repay your kindness."

Qi Chuan knew their minds were made up and didn’t press them to stay. "To meet is to be bound by fate. There’s no need to be so formal. If we have the chance to meet again, I will be sure to share a good drink with you both."

Xiao Li chuckled. "That day will come."